Act like a prick, Jim: blame the victim

[imomus]

"Leave it on show, expect it to go," advised a sign I saw near The Mall, London, the other day. While it's touching that the Metropolitan Police are composing poetry to help members of the public stay alert and vigilant, it struck me as a kind of dangerous fatalism. While I don't expect the London police to reverse Britain's worsening Gini rating or even actually prevent and solve crimes, it did seem a bit irresponsible of them to suggest that theft and display were one and the same thing.

It seemed to chime with the odd attitude expressed in an article I read in a British newspaper about an elderly couple who'd been murdered by robbers in their home. While everybody interviewed said what a sweet old pair they'd been, walking into town arm in arm, they were unanimous: these were people you'd almost expect to get robbed and killed, considering what an affluent area they lived in and how old and sweetly defenseless they were. It was almost some sort of Darwinian inevitability that such folks would get chopped up.

Being a bit of a poet myself, I decided to sit down and write some other slogans the police could use to warn people of the viciousness of modern Britain. Here are some ideas for posters that could be displayed around the British capital. Perhaps you could add a few of your own.

Wake up to reality, expect criminality.

Increase inequality, expect an armed robbery.

Where folks don't have jobs, expect to get robbed.

Walk visibly breasted, get quickly molested.

In a land with high GINI, wear three bikinis.

Show us some ankle? Now you'll get strangled.

One inch of thigh, one hour till you die.

An uncovered head, Allah strikes dead.

Say something clever, get ready for bovver.

Walk down your driveway, die by a drive-by.

Stay all day in bed; wake up, you're dead.

Get on a plane? Your life's down the drain.

You died having sex? What did you expect?

Somebody killed you? Not much we can do.

Comments

[bricology.livejournal.com]

I think it's only sensible that the legality of gun ownership be a matter for the people to decide in anything like a democracy, and especially so in places *other* than democracies.

I come from a rather liberal--er, "progressive"--past, but the older I get, the more I see that as being a rather naive view that presumes that all Americans will be law-abiding if left to their own devices. All it takes is to live in a somewhat dangerous neighborhood (as I do) to disabuse one of that notion. Here in San Francisco--one of the most "safe" cities in the US--we've already had 42 homicides this year, and 37 of those were with guns used in the commission of a crime. Our population is about 3/4 million, so statistically speaking, every San Francisco resident assumes a 1 in 10,000 chance of being killed with a gun this year, probably as the victim of a crime. If the current rate holds, a life-long resident will make that more like 1 in 135 or so of being killed, and many times that of being robbed, raped or wounded with a gun. That's sobering.

Clearly, in the US, the horse has already left the stable, and closing the gate now isn't going to get it back in. Simply put, criminals here will _always_ have access to guns. There aren't enough law enforcement officers in the US to protect the citizenry from these criminals, so the only option left to us is to protect ourselves as best we can. And sadly, pepper spray or martial arts are pretty useless against an assailant with a gun. That's the reality we have to deal with. And while I've not yet had to defend myself with a gun, I know people who have. The statistics of people who have successfully foiled an attempted crime by brandishing (or even using) a gun are difficult to find, but I'm sure they bear out the idea that owning one is sensible for many people. Again, that's why American police departments recommend people own a gun for home protection.

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't describe myself as a liberal but certainly come from a --er, "progressive"--present but am glad to report that I don't share the belief that all Americans and/or Britons would be law-abiding if left to their own devices. I think that the 'liberal' view you describe is, from my experience, shared by economic liberals as well as social liberals (if restraints on free market capitalism were only relieved then everything and everyone would be OK). Don't believe either position.

Sorry to hear that you feel the need to carry a gun, but understand perfectly why you might feel the need to do so. What you say won't stop me visiting America - the company is too rewarding - but it makes me happy to be living here with the sheep!

[bricology.livejournal.com]

Oh--I don't often *carry* a gun (it's been more than a year since I had the circumstances where I needed to, and that was only for one night). But I do own a .410 shotgun loaded with dove shot, that's light enough for my wife to use, should I not be home at the time, and it lives in a safe hiding place inside our home. We've had a few break-ins in our building, and knowing how long it would take the Police to arrive, it's reassuring to have it. Believe me--I wish we didn't need it! I would gladly exchange my access to private gun ownership for a drastically lower crime rate (say, like in Japan).

Speaking of British sheep--have you ever been to Big Sheep (http://www.thebigsheep.co.uk/) in north Devon? It's a theme park all about sheep. We visited on our honeymoon, which happened to be just after lambing season. Sheep races (with stuffed lambs riding jockey), lamb feeding, sheepdog trials, etc. Great fun.

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it, but if I had I certainly would have remembered it!